Hannah's story

Hannah Alice Simon is a 19-year-old humanities student from Kochi, who has been offered a full scholarship at University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA. As she prepared to start this exciting new chapter, Hannah talked to us about her incredible achievements, and the part having a Grade 6 and 8 in Trinity College London’s Rock & Pop Vocal and Classical Vocals Singing played in the application process.  

Although Hannah’s musical talents were obvious from a very young age, she wasn’t immediately keen on developing her musical skills as a young child. 

“When I was in first grade, I learned a little bit of Indian classical music. But then after a little while, I started moving away from music because people started seeing me as only as the girl who sings, like music became my only identity. I felt quite rebellious towards music, and I sort of stayed away from it until I was in 6th grade.  

Hannah was invited to compose a song as part of a project at school, and her creativity was sparked again. Before long she had written her first song, ‘Jesus by my Side’ and set up a YouTube channel. Since then, Hannah has written eight songs to date, gained over 20,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel, and published a book of short stories, all of this alongside her impressive academic achievements.  

Once Hannah had got back into the swing of creating and performing her songs, she decided she wanted to train her voice and, as a result, started preparing for Trinity’s graded vocal exams. She noticed the difference in her vocal technique quite quickly. 

“When I released my fifth song, I had already started my training. When people heard my song, they started commenting about the difference in my voice - the quality, the clarity - and that's when it really hit home.” 

Hannah tells us why she chose to develop her vocal skills with Trinity College London in particular. 

“Trinity College London examinations are internationally acclaimed, so it's an added strength for me and it shows that I'm good at extracurricular activities."  

Hannah enjoyed the exam experience, and she has fond memories of her interaction with the examiner. 

“One thing I noticed about all my Trinity College examinations was how friendly the examiners were. They always use that phrase whenever you are ready. and they made me so comfortable.” 

Hannah is in no doubt about the impact taking her Trinity vocal exams has had on her acceptance at University of Notre Dame. 

“When universities look at your application, they not only look at your marks, but they also look at who you are as a person and what they want is they want someone who will be who will diversify and increase the richness of the university. I think my Trinity College London certificates helped in showing me as a person who had different talents and was able to use those talents.” 

We wish Hannah all the best for this exciting new chapter, and we’re looking forward to hearing her next song! 

“Trinity College London examinations are internationally acclaimed, so it's an added strength for me and it shows that I'm good at extracurricular activities."  

Find out more about Trinity Rock & Pop exams
More Trinity success stories